


Guiding Fate

by PearlyWrites



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: 4-year-olds are so cute sometimes, Canon Compliant, Children, Dickson is a begrudging dad, Gen, Just characters relationships, Mentions of Zanza, Pre-Canon, Rated T for swearing, So prepare for lots of little kid fluff, no ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 13:29:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20583278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlyWrites/pseuds/PearlyWrites
Summary: Shulk was four when it happened. When he lost his parents to a force he didn't understand, a force he wouldn't understand even years later. So of course, when a stranger brings him to Colony 9 to recover from strange injuries, he doesn't understand.He just wants to go back home.(Short story exploring what happened the day Shulk was brought to Colony 9 by Dickson. Contains heavy spoilers for the game if you're not aware of who certain characters are.)





	1. Setting the Stage

**Author's Note:**

> [One last time, this story contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Xenoblade Chronicles. So major, in fact, that you likely won't understand what's going on unless you've seen the game's story all the way through. This is your final warning. If you are aware, or just don't care, then please enjoy.]

Dickson didn't think himself to be cut out to be a dad, not in this form. And yet, when Zanza sent him to fetch his aspiring new form from some godforsaken temple in the middle of Valak Mountain, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd become one to the little 4-year-old curled up in his arms.

"Bloody 'ell, I'm not ready for this," the Homs sighed, adjusting his hold on the child to keep him close.

"He would not have sent you if you were not ready," an all-too-familiar quiet voice reminded him. Dickson twisted in place to see none other than pompous Alvis leaning against the frozen cave wall. He found it difficult to suppress a sneer.

"Because _you_ know so much more about our god than I do," he muttered, turning back to the small fire crackling away in front of him.

Dear Bionis, he could _feel_ Alvis smirk. "As his designated seer and frequent communicator, I believe I, in fact, do," he replied, almost smugly.

"Then you should know why he chose a little kid," Dickson shot back, only half-sarcastic. He was genuinely curious as to why Zanza would choose a child to be his vessel...

Alvis' smile faded into a somber look and he shrugged, silver hair glinting orange in the firelight. "All living beings begin as infants and must grow up," the spirit said simply. "This was the most opportune time to give him the best chance of success."

"Cut his family ties now and bring him to the people who'll accompany him to glory," Dickson muttered, staring down at the sleeping child again and brushing a strand of blond hair away from his slightly agape mouth. He shook his head. "Whatever. S'not my place to decide." A moment of silence fell between the two disciples, accompanied only by the sparking of the fire and the howling of the snowstorm outside.

"His name is Shulk," Alvis said quietly, answering Dickson's unspoken question. "An only child from an intelligent family. He bears great potential."

"Shulk, huh?..." Dickson mused absently. "Good to know, I guess."

"Taking care of the child will not be an easy task," Alvis said slowly, the phrase half statement and half cautionary advice. "I have full faith that you will do well, but in the years to come, besides the responsibilities that come from being an adoptive parent, I sense that other, unpredictable issues will arise that few things can prepare you for."

"Like what?"

Dickson always did this - bluntly asked for specific details from the ever-vague seer. Alvis frequently either gave equally vague answers or avoided the question entirely. So it came as quite a surprise when the silver-haired man gave him a straightforward answer: "Monsters. Invasions. The fall of the remaining colonies. The child is shy by nature and may not easily make the social connections he needs to succeed in the end."

Dickson was shocked into silence for a moment, both at the plain answer laid out from the cryptic seer and from the information he was suddenly given. "Fall of the remaining colonies?" he repeated, a little slowly and unevenly.

Alvis bowed his head slightly. "You know Egil. His wrath only grows stronger with every passing day. The Mechon evolve to be harder, faster, stronger. It is only a matter of time before all but a few Homs can withstand their attacks, let alone colonies. The rest will be wiped out."

It was grim news, and a heavy silence fell between them again. Damn him in his old age, but Dickson may have gotten attached to these little Homs creatures. They reminded him of his first life, despite their biological differences. "Well, it's inevitable, ain't it?" he said gruffly, half to himself. "Cycle of life. All of 'em come from the Bionis so they have to return to it, eventually." He was almost certain that Alvis knew the quiet emotional conflict that was going through Dickson's head but thankfully, both remained silent.

"I must be off," Alvis eventually said, almost inaudible above the fire and snowstorm. "I am required elsewhere. I will check up every so often, to check on your progress, but I leave the rest to you." With a respectful bow, he turned and walked back out of the cave entrance, despite being lightly dressed and having no protection against the raging storm. He disappeared quickly in the sheets of snow but Dickson didn't blink. Alvis had always been theatrical...

With a heavy, soul-dampening sigh, he looked back down at the sleeping child, trying to picture its future as the vessel for the great god of all living beings. Somehow, he had a hard time doing so. The body was still alive, revived by the Monado's power, but despite the physical 'reset', the child's soul still seemed to remain. One couldn't even tell that, an hour ago, it'd been as dead as the rest of the exploration party.

"Shulk..." he murmured. "You're gonna cause me a lot of trouble, aren'tcha?"


	2. Unseen Ties

For Dunban and his family, a hard, steady knock at the door in the middle of the night was not uncommon. Not only were they part of the main defense for the colony, being located right at the forefront of the colony entrance, but they were familiar with rather strange people with peculiar habits.

So it wasn't a huge surprise when Dickson stood on the doorstep as Dunban opened the door, bleary-eyed and drowsy, but he jolted awoke quickly at the sight of a small, limp body in the older man's arms. "Dickson? Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Depends on your definition of all right," Dickson muttered, almost inaudible despite the quiet summer night. "I got a bit of a strange situation here and I'd appreciate it if you 'n your parents would let me bum here for the night."

"Uh - yeah, sure, come on in," Dunban opened the door and let the older man step inside the darkened kitchen, unable to tear his gaze away from what he now recognized as a young child. Very young, probably close to Fiora's age, he realized. "What's...?"

Dickson heaved a heavy sigh as he arranged the little body on the kitchen table. "Go grab your parents and I'll explain to all of you."

So, a few minutes later, Dunban's parents and a barely-awake Fiora were gathered in the little cooking space, sitting around the table and looking questioningly at the war vet. "Dickson, what's going on?" Dunban's mother asked, concerned.

"So, you probably wouldn't know this, but a couple weeks ago, an expedition group left Colony 6 to explore Valak Mountain. Their goal was find the Monado."

A gasp came from both of Dunban's parents, though he himself was totally lost. "_The _Monado?" Dunban's father demanded. "I thought the colonies lost it decades ago."

"They did," Dickson agreed. "But some Nopon scientists were fairly certain they'd found where it had been hidden, so a group went out to find and, hopefully, reclaim it."

"Okay," Dunban said slowly. "Maybe it's because I'm still tired, but I don't see what this has to do with you. Or this kid," he said, gesturing to the sleeping form.

"I was in Colony 6 right before the expedition left. They had an expected arrival time, but given the dangerous nature of the mission, they had planned a week of 'wiggle room', if you would, to account for blizzards or monster attacks." He sighed. "Two weeks passed and we didn't hear back from 'em, not even from the Nopon merchants who'd been passing through the area, so I volunteered to head after 'em. It was possible that they'd just gotten hung up in a bad spot or had gotten snowed in, so we didn't wanna risk sending another big group after 'em in case the same thing happened. Took me a day or two to get there, and when I managed to find the temple they'd stopped in..."

Dunban's heart caught in his throat. "What did you find?" he dared to ask.

"They were all dead," Dickson muttered. Dunban's mother covered her mouth with her hands and his father bowed his head. "Well... all except this one." He jerked his chin towards the sleeping child. "Found 'im curled up at the base of the monument, fast asleep."

"Is he all right?" Dunban's mother fretted, only now looking over the child's face for signs of injury through the heavy snow coat, pants, and boots.

"He seems to be fine, far as I can tell. But I ain't no medic," Dickson pointed out. "That's why I brought him back here. Further from the Mechonis and a better atmosphere to heal in."

"So that's why you hauled him all the way down here," Dunban's father muttered.

Dickson smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I woulda just brought 'im back to Colony 6 but they're a little overwhelmed right now what with 5 having just fallen. Those people have got some more urgent things on their hands, so I figured I'd head here instead."

"Things are that bad, huh?..." Dunban's mother whispered. 

"Now hold on, I've got one more question," Dunban's father butted in, looking urgently at Dickson. "Did they find it? The Monado?"

Dickson paused for a moment and the atmosphere thickened with anticipation until he unlatched a large bundle he'd been carrying on his back. He gingerly laid it on the little space left on the kitchen table before him and slowly unwrapped it. Eventually, bright, gleaming red metal could be seen glinting in the light as Dickson revealed a weapon the likes of which Dunban had never seen before. Pale blue-gray highlights ran along what Dunban assumed was the blade and circled a clear pane of glass placed just below the handle, and little windows scattered down the length added a sense of sophistication to the otherwise alien weapon.

"By the Bionis..." Dunban's father muttered. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Careful," Dickson jerked Dunban out of his reverie as he realized he'd been reaching forward to touch it. "It's a volatile thing and it hasn't been touched in years. Best leave it for tomorrow when experts can look at it in the daytime." Dunban (with a tinge of regret that he couldn't quite place) pulled his hand back and placed it in his lap, still staring at the peculiar object as Dickson wrapped it back up and tucked it away again.

Dunban's mother was quick to shake her head and change the subject. "So, that brings you here, to wait the night until the med bay opens in the morning," she addressed Dickson.

"Precisely," Dickson agreed. "I know it's an ungodly hour of the morning but I really do appreciate you lettin' me 'n the little one hang out 'til morning."

Dunban's father waved his hand. "Of course, don't worry about it. Our door is always open to you." Then the adults went about getting two temporary beds set up for Dickson and his ward, with Dunban putting Fiora back to bed.

"Wha's goin' on?" his little sister slurred, laying down without resistance in her soft bed.

"You'll find out in the morning," Dunban whispered back, tucking her in. "Go back to sleep now." He barely even finished the sentence when the toddler did just that, breathing deeply and evenly. 

"Thanks for the help," Dickson told Dunban once everything was settled in.

"You owe me a more detailed story in the morning," Dunban joked and Dickson laughed.

"Sure thing. See ya then."


End file.
